Read Online Scandal by Kate Brian - Free Book Online Page A

curtains we’d found in the closet. We’d used the rest of them to cover up the piles of furniture to make the room look slightly cozier. Ivy was perched at one of the fourteen desks we’d arranged in a semicircle facing me.
    Tiffany arrived first. She dropped down onto the gritty floor with the dexterity of the ace basketball player she was, frowned at the covered furniture, then took a seat. Rose was next. She peeked inside the window, smiled when she saw me, then turned around and backed through the window, dangling by her hands for a second before she let go. Lorna pretty much fell through sideways and crashed to the floor with an “oomph.” Tiffany, Rose, and I jumped up to see if she was okay, while Ivy rolled her eyes and shook her head.
    “I’m fine. I’m fine,” Lorna whispered. Which, aside from the dirt smear on her camel coat and her obvious embarrassment, she was.
    The girls arrived separately at perfect five-minute intervals. We’d planned it that way; it was Friday night, and we didn’t want to generate suspicion in any security guards, teachers, or students who might be loitering in the vicinity. After Lorna came Vienna. Then Missy, Astrid, Kiki, London, Amberly, Shelby, and Portia. They all made it through the window unscathed, except for a scraped hand here or a torn hem there. Constance was one of the last to arrive. She fumbled through the window, plummeted to the floor, and fell right on her ass. Portia, who was closest to the window, snorted a laugh but went to help. Red-faced, Constance grabbed Portia’s hand, scrambled to her feet, and looked around. When her eyes fell on me she visibly brightened and relaxed.
    “Hey, Reed!” she said in full voice.
    “Shhhhh!” the rest of the girls replied.
    Constance’s blush deepened. She quickly took the empty desk next to Astrid, which creaked loudly as she sat down and sort of listed to the side. Constance braced her feet on the floor and held on to the desk for dear life, clearly terrified of making even more of a scene.
    Five minutes passed. I looked at the window. No shadows. No footfalls. My eyes met Ivy’s. Tiffany shifted impatiently in her seat. Shelby cleared her throat and checked her iPhone. Vienna, London, and Portia started to whisper and giggle. The solemn atmosphere we had attempted to create with the late-night meeting time and candles was deteriorating fast. The girls were starting to grow restless. And from the direction of their glances, I could also tell that the Billings Girls were wondering why Ivy was there. I glanced at the window again, growing antsy, and held my watch closer to the candle on my desk.
    Nine forty-five. Noelle’s designated time had been nine thirty-five. It seemed Miss Lange had, in fact, moved on.
    “All right, it looks like we’re all here,” I began, pushing myself off the desk to stand before them. Everyone looked startled, I’m sure pondering the distinct lack of Noelle. “For the past week, many of us have been wondering what’s to become of Billings. Yes, the building is gone, but for those of us who lived there, being in Billings wasn’t just about the house. It was about us. Our friendship, our sisterhood, our support of one another.”
    I paused. Every pair of eyes in the room was riveted on me.
    “Well, I think I’ve found a way to preserve the spirit of Billings.” I turned to slide the book off the desk, practically giddy in anticipation of their reactions to what I was about to say.
    That was when the window hinges squeaked. Everyone turned to look. Noelle’s black Gucci boots backed through the opening. She eased herself down, her hands clutching the sill, and dropped to the floor, her knees barely bending as her shoes hit the ground. She dusted off the front of her black coat, lifted her hair over her shoulder, and smiled.
    “What did I miss?”
    She’d shown. She’d actually shown. I looked at Ivy. Her lips were pursed and her entire body looked tense. She was going to get